Techno-Economic Analysis of a Hybrid CSP/PV Plants in the Eastern Region of Morocco
Sara El Hassani, Hanane Ait Lahoussine Ouali, Mohammed Amine Moussaoui, Ahmed Mezrhab
Abstract
The concept of a hybrid concentrated solar power–photovoltaic system (CSP/PV) to generate the electricity need is one of the most interesting concepts of hybridization in recent years. In this context, the design and investigation of a hybrid CSP–PV power system composed of the solar tower and the photovoltaic system are presented in this paper. Oujda city in eastern Morocco (34°40′53′′ N, 1°54′30.9′′ W) is proposed as a case location. The CSP part consists of a solar tower with a two-tank direct thermal energy storage system that operates with a mixture of potassium and sodium nitrate molten salt, integrated with a power block of 111 MWe gross consisted of a conventional Rankine Cycle. A comparison of the cost-effectiveness and production profitability between the hybrid PV–CSP system and the photovoltaic (PV) and the concentrated solar power (CSP) plants standalone is performed. The configurations of these types of systems are implemented in the System Advisor Model (SAM). A parametric analysis of varying tilt angle, solar multiple, and thermal storage were carried out to understand their impact on the annual energy and Levelized cost of energy. The technical and economical results revealed that PV solar panels must be fixed at the optimum value of 30° where the system provides higher annual energy with a lower LCOE. Moreover, as expected, results show that the hybrid plant offers to dispatch energy with a lower LCOE than the CSP alone and the capacity factor can achieve more than 90% with the SM more than 3.5, especially for thermal storage of more than 16 h.